Cellular ion transport

2000/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia

The NASA Astrobiology Center in California has taken another step in the way of knowing how the initial cells of life formed. Through a computer simulation, they have discovered that the protein M2 (influenza virus protein) adopts by itself a configuration that allows ionic transport.

The M2 protein acquires an a-helix shape when it touches the membrane. Four of these propellers then intertwine and penetrate the membrane of the gallbladder leaving a tubular hole in the center. The structure captures and interiorizes the hydrogen atoms located on the outside of the membrane, forming a higher concentration of protons and an electric gradient between the outside and the inside. This electric gradient allows the ions to enter and exit the cells and the cell to perform its functions, being the motor of the cell in some way the electric gradient.

According to the researchers, a similar process occurred in primary cells (protocells). Although simulation has been done by computer, researchers claim that protocell production in the laboratory is a near-future option.